


Safe Return

by itsmoonpeaches



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Aang meets Raava, Aang-centric, Avatar State, Best Friends, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Minor Aang/Katara, Other, Post-100 Year War (Avatar TV), Post-Avatar: The Last Airbender, Post-War, Pre-Avatar: Legend of Korra, Spirit World, Spirit World (Avatar), Spiritual, Winter Solstice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:07:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25136647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsmoonpeaches/pseuds/itsmoonpeaches
Summary: “What are you doing here, Stinky?”Aang lifted his head, blinking at a rather tall aye-aye that stood on its hind legs, upright and bipedal. Like a human. Its gigantic yellow eyes were boring into him, observing him with outright judgement. It tapped one of its long, spindly fingers on its pointed chin.“These humans are making you work for it. You should be outside! Enjoying nature! You look like you need a bath too! Did you forget to wash again?”-Or, the winter solstice causes Aang to be all of his past lives. All at once.
Relationships: Aang & Iroh (Avatar), Aang & Katara (Avatar), Aang & Raava (Avatar), Aang & Sokka (Avatar), Aang & Suki (Avatar), Aang & The Gaang (Avatar), Aang & Toph Beifong, Aang & Toph Beifong & Katara & Sokka & Suki & Zuko, Aang & Zuko (Avatar), Aang/Katara (Avatar)
Comments: 36
Kudos: 341
Collections: Best of Avatar: The Last Airbender





	Safe Return

**Author's Note:**

> This was kind of very loosely inspired by reading Shame and Necessity by Philosopher_King. Very loosely. Like so loosely that there isn't any connection. I've always been fascinated by Avatar's Spirit World and got even more fascinated by the prospect of Aang ever meeting Raava. This came out of that. Hope you enjoy it!

The war culminated months ago. There was a beginning in the depths of summer when the seasons were edging into autumn. The end of summer came with the arrival of Sozin’s Comet, the blinding swathes of overwhelming fire, a clash of powers, the triumph of the Avatar and the new Fire Lord.

And then, it was peace. Aang knew it would not be so simple.

There were negotiation meetings after negotiation meetings. If he were honest with himself, he was out of his element. He was never trained for this. All his friends were still young, and none of them could call themselves adults. Though, many could argue that what they had done and experienced was wisdom enough.

He knew he was not the only one losing his mind. Zuko was missing sleep over assassination attempts and trying to please his people at the same time. After traveling the world on her own, Toph thought it was time to reconnect with her parents, and that was stressful for an estranged relationship. Katara and Sokka were working with the Water Tribes to rebuild. Suki had volunteered for her and the Kyoshi Warriors to protect an endangered Fire Lord. Yet, there were still things that they had to do together. Aang was beyond grateful.

That included this: the first winter solstice festival in a hundred years.

 _This must be what’s making me go crazy_ , thought Aang. There must have been a reason why he felt like he was teetering off the edge of sanity.

Ever since he had mastered the Avatar State, he had become a fully realized Avatar and thus completely connected to his spiritual self. Things had only begun to get much more complicated afterward. With the solstice encroaching upon them, it was like he was living a thousand lives at once. Technically, he guessed that should not have come as a surprise. He was not even sure how many past lives he had.

“What are you doing here, Stinky?” said the most grating, high-pitched voice he had ever heard.

Aang lifted his head, blinking at a rather tall aye-aye that stood on its hind legs, upright and bipedal. Like a human. Its gigantic yellow eyes were boring into him, observing him with outright judgement. It tapped one of its long, spindly fingers on its pointed chin.

“These humans are making you work for it. You should be outside! Enjoying nature! You look like you need a bath too! Did you forget to wash again?” The peculiar creature snickered as it spoke.

Aang scrunched his eyebrows together, sitting straighter in his seat. He placed his elbows on the table, leaning forward into them. He was so confused as to why this talking aye-aye thing was shouting obscene suggestions at him from across the room. It was standing behind the Great Fire Sage who had been droning on and on for an hour about rituals and tradition.

Someone cleared their throat. Aang snapped his attention away from the aye-aye. When he glanced at the space where it had been, there was nothing there.

“Avatar Aang,” said the elderly Fire Sage that he had been staring behind for so long, “Is there something the matter?”

Aang gazed around the council chamber, seeing the looks of concern from Zuko, Sokka, Katara, and various other Fire Nation dignitaries. Toph was staring into nothing just above his shoulder, not quite meeting his gaze with her milky eyes. She was pouting.

He gulped, hands retreating into his lap. “I just,” he hesitated, “I mean…I thought I saw…” He shook his head, clearing the image from his memory. “Never mind.”

“I think we should reconvene tomorrow,” Sokka suggested. “It’s getting late, and none of us had dinner yet. I _am_ hungry.”

Katara frowned at him, but nevertheless gestured in agreement.

“I think it’s a good idea, Shyu. It has been a long day. I’m sure we have time to continue planning for the solstice festival in the morning. We still have a week,” added Zuko.

Shyu bowed his head, as well as the other Fire Nation members at the table. “Of course, Fire Lord.” The Great Sage then turned to Aang with another, more reverent bow. “Rest well, Avatar.”

With that, the meeting was adjourned. Aang stood with the rest of the group, but he felt all the blood rush to his head. He did not notice that he was starting to tip over. It was not until Katara caught his arm that he did.

“Aang,” she stated softly in his ear, “Are you okay? You’ve been acting strange all day.”

“I just…” he started, trying to blink away the floating starbursts from his sight. They kind of looked like little bulbs of yellow light. “You don’t see them?”

Katara gently held his shoulders, moving him to face her. “See what?” she asked.

“I don’t see anything,” joked Toph. She grunted when Sokka elbowed her.

“The lights…the aye-aye?” Aang fumbled for an answer that would make sense. He closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, the fuzzy light spheres had disappeared as if they were never there.

Katara drew him closer to her and placed her cool palm on his cheek. “I think you just need to rest,” she recommended. “You haven’t slept well for the past few days.”

The group agreed with her sentiment and they dispersed. Zuko patted Aang on the back with a sigh, offering to send in his physician with herbs if he needed it. Sokka and Toph practically sprinted out into the halls, eager for the first helping of food for the night. Aang was sure they would partake in about a million servings each. Suki and the other Kyoshi Warrior that had been standing outside the meeting area perked to attention as soon as Zuko passed them.

Katara took Aang’s hand. “C’mon,” she remarked, words as calm as her demeanor. His tense shoulders sagged. She always had that effect on him. “Let’s get you to bed.”

They walked to his quarters and kissed outside his door. Katara’s arms lingered around his neck an extra second before releasing him.

Aang slumped into his sheets, rubbing his forehead. He hoped sleep was all he needed.

-

Sleep was not all that he needed.

He dreamed of Sozin of all people, except he was sure that he was not an outsider this time, but he _was_ Avatar Roku. All four elements rushed around them in a one-sided fight in the old Fire Lord’s throne room. He could see his fists punch out flames, his legs command a tornado of air. Sozin was caught by his robes on a pillar of earth.

The dream changed.

He was scrutinizing a pot of face paint. He grabbed a brush, dipped it in red stain, applied it on his eyelids. Then he was bending the winds on a current, forcing some enormous armored spirit away. He was gripping a whale bone spear, thrusting it at a polar bear dog that was bounding across the tundra, eclipsed by relentless snowfall.

An earthquake rumbled beneath his feet. He screamed as he fell into the depths of the ocean, his hand reaching for the sun, but no one was there to grab onto him. He could not breathe. He was not an Avatar yet; he did not know that he was. He could only bend earth. No one would save him.

He sucked in saltwater, choking. A light engulfed him.

Aang shot up in his bed, gasping. Sweat drenched his bare chest. Outside, the sky was pitch-dark. Stars twinkled outside. There was no one there.

-

The next day, Zuko was cradling an old-fashioned hairpiece in his hands. The Fire Sages were explaining to him its significance and he was nodding along, informing them of what he had learned about it from his Uncle Iroh.

Aang could only see the rusted gold and the pin that was supposed to hold a topknot in place. It shone brilliantly in the afternoon rays.

“I thought I lost that,” he said without thinking. “It’s supposed to be worn by the Crown Prince.”

Zuko and the sages could only stare at him, open-mouthed.

 _They should know,_ Aang thought with confusion, _I was wearing that the other day._

-

Aang and Katara were taking a break in the gardens. He was ripping pieces of bread into smaller portions to feed to the turtle ducks that drifted across the pond. They quacked happily at them, nipping at the crumbs with gusto.

The two of them sat together on the grass. Katara was smiling at him and laughing at the way the mother turtle duck seemed to reprimand one of her brood from taking too much food from the rest. A warmth settled within Aang’s core.

“I’m glad you’re taking this break,” she said to him, eyes twinkling. “I know we only have three more days until the festival, but we’ve been worried about you.” Her tone softened. “I’ve been worried about you.”

Aang concentrated on feeding the turtle ducks. With careful control, he inhaled and exhaled to calm his fast beating heart. He had just seen a flash of Koh the Face Stealer in the water, threatening to take Ummi as punishment. The impression of the face the conniving spirit chose—a curly-tailed blue nose—was burned into his sight.

“These visions you keep seeing,” Katara continued, “you don’t think it’s because we’re nearing the solstice?”

Aang nodded. “I think so,” he responded, voice hoarse. “But I think it’s more than that. It’s like I’m all my past lives at once. That’s never happened before.”

Aang tried not to think about the fact that when he had said that he meant that it had never happened to _any_ Avatar before. Of course, he knew that. His head was pounding. Spots danced across his eyes.

Iroh came into sight, his elegant crimson Fire Nation robes brushed on the tiled paths of the royal gardens. He had come to visit from Ba Sing Se to help his nephew and his friends plan for the festival. Everyone knew that he was ecstatic to observe Zuko’s first significant event as the new Fire Lord.

“Ah,” beamed Iroh, his gray beard brushing against his robes, “Aang, Katara, please come to the sitting hall for some tea. I’ve made a special blend for today.”

Aang and Katara followed him through the hallways. Servants ducked past them, some appearing too eager or nervous. One stumbled by with a botched bow. None of them were used to so many important people visiting the palace at once, it seemed. He could not blame them.

One of the servants opened the doors leading to the Fire Lord’s sitting room. The towering red and gold-trimmed columns inside were overly opulent for Aang’s tastes. He suspected Zuko was uncomfortable with the arrangements as well if his constant grimacing at his surroundings was to be believed. However, what were they to do if not level and rebuild an entire ancestral palace? That certainly was not an option.

Unless he was Avatar Roku, of course.

“I’ve never seen tea like this before!” exclaimed Katara. “It’s so beautiful!” She had joined the others at a circular wooden table, seating herself on one of the embroidered silk cushions situated around it. Soon after, Aang was next to her.

As usual, Toph had a bored expression, but was enthusiastic when sipping the drink. Sokka and Suki were congratulating Iroh on such a unique taste. This would have been a normal sight to witness, if not for the fact that Aang could not move. Perhaps it was better to say that he could not bring himself to move.

The sound of music filtered throughout the room. The haunting overture of the tsungi horn hummed in his ears and the tinkling chimes of the Air Nomads filtered in.

He was a different airbender, a young man. He was propped up against a magnolia tree upon a lush hill. The Northern Air Temple peeked behind the mountaintops, shrouded in purple mists and the promise of spring. Children were running up to him, spinning in circles and giggling after each other. He felt a sense of calm. In his hand was a porcelain cup of steaming tea. He waited for the ball of dried leaves inside it to bloom into a jasmine flower, and he watched as each tendril unfurled as the tea saturated them. He used controlled firebending to make it hotter.

“How do you like it, Aang?”

He looked up. Iroh was peering at him with an odd glint in his eye. Aang finally noticed how hard he was gripping his cup. The tea was boiling. The jasmine flower had blossomed minutes ago. He gulped the drink down without another thought, ignoring the scalding heat that burned past his throat.

The flavor was floral, nearly sweet, nostalgic. He remembered loving this tea. It had been his favorite.

“It’s delicious,” he coughed out, attempting to hide his discomfort. 

“I’m happy to hear that,” replied Iroh. He offered to pour more into everyone’s empty cups.

Aang saw the orange-red spiral that was painted onto the side of the teapot that Iroh held. A spiral on a backdrop of white. There was a rounded bamboo handle that protruded from the top, not quite how he thought it should be. It should have been squarer, like a gate. There was supposed to be something else there, but he could not place what was missing.

“That almost looks like my teapot,” Aang remarked. The words had flowed out of his mouth with nothing to hold them back. He did not own a teapot. “I forgot where I put it.”

Iroh’s golden gaze met his. There was something there in the atmosphere between them, akin to an understanding Aang could not quite place. Familiarity? No. It was something else. More uncertain. Archaic.

“I’m sure you’ll find your teapot soon, Avatar Aang.”

No one commented on the fact that Uncle Iroh never addressed Aang by his title before.

-

The solstice festival arrived with pomp and circumstance. People from all over the Fire Nation had gathered in the capital to celebrate. Even a few people from other nations were speckled throughout the crowds.

The solstice festival also came with more headaches for Aang. He kept seeing dual images. Triple images. Quadruple. All of them had a hazy quality to them, muted sepia in hue. He saw remnants of streets that were no longer there, buildings that had grown into other homes.

He had walked straight into a bathing house, thinking it was a path that turned into the secret passageway that led back to the palace. Luck was on his side because his friends had been following him in a bewildered daze, wondering where he was taking them.

Toph could not stop laughing after he had brought them to a naked old man massaging his…well. At least she had the sense to pull him out of there and run.

It turned out that there was no secret passageway that led to the palace. Zuko informed him of this with a raised eyebrow. “As far as I know,” the Fire Lord said, “I think I read about one in a history book once. They removed it because there was a servant who used the path to sneak gold to a corrupt general about five-hundred years ago.”

Aang dragged a hand down his face. He could feel the bags under his eyes. Katara embraced him.

“Of course, it doesn’t exist,” muttered Aang against her neck. “It was probably another weird memory.” Louder he said, “Let’s just get this festival over with.”

When she let him go, he felt his friends exchange looks behind his back, and Katara’s worried glances. He knew they were all concerned for him, but no amount of meditation did anything to soothe his mind. He kept seeing things, and he had a feeling that he needed to push through them.

People were milling about the streets, holding lanterns and tying paper wishes to trees. They seemed to give the group space.

A gong sounded, and the Fire Sages stepped up on the balcony. Zuko gestured for Aang to follow him, and in a minute, they were standing behind a thick layer of dark burgundy curtains. Aang could hear Shyu making a speech about the importance of the spirits, and how they were close to them on the solstice.

Aang followed Zuko out. The people below them cheered.

“Today, we honor the first solstice after a hundred years in a world without war,” boomed Zuko’s words. “We honor peace with both our nations, and with the spirits. As we welcome the changing of the seasons, we also welcome our hopes for a bountiful new year.”

Zuko sounded commanding, like a true leader. Aang could hear the slight nervousness in his tone, though. He knew that Zuko had practiced in a mirror for hours.

“…and with this era of peace,” continued Zuko, “We also bring back the era of the Avatar as the bridge between our world and the Spirit World, a tradition that has long been forgotten in the Fire Nation.”

That was his cue. Aang stepped onto the terrace. There were cries of approval and excitement. He opened his mouth.

Something overtook him. A power surged through him, and then, he could only see an expanse of nothingness.

It was bright with no other specks of color. A shape appeared in front of him, hovering. He did not know what it was. There was something recognizable about it though, and he knew that whatever this thing was, he trusted it with his life. He had never trusted anyone so fully and immediately before. Not even Katara. 

The shape came closer. They were so near that they were almost touching.

“Raava,” Aang said, his voice strangely small as it echoed with all his past lives. He could not tell how he knew its name. He just did.

The spirit before him was blurred, like he was peering through fogged glass. It was made of indiscernible shapes and colors, warping from what could have been Avatar Roku, to Kyoshi, to Kuruk, to Yangchen, then changing back and forth from squat to tall at a rapid pace. There was another form that looked vaguely white and blue, then it shifted again.

“I’ve been waiting for you, Aang,” rang a feminine voice. It reverberated around him like an everlasting bell. “You must prepare. There isn’t much time.”

“There’s never enough time,” he responded as if he always was aware of the answer. 

“There isn’t,” agreed the spirit, “but you and I have always made time.”

Aang imagined this was what it was like to meet a being older than Koh, as venerated as a Lion Turtle. There was illumination and power radiating from it in waves, an unseen source of energy that he could not hope to replicate even if he tried. Yet, he was not apprehensive as he had been when he met other ancient entities. He was relaxed, comfortable. He knew this spirit as well as he knew himself.

“What do I need to prepare for?” he inquired.

“Ten-thousand years is nearing us. He is coming.”

“Who is?”

There was a breath of silence. Then, “When the time comes, you will know. But now you are just beginning this part of our journey. There will be much to do, my friend.”

“To prepare?”

“To prepare the world,” the spirit added. “Today is the first solstice in many years where the world is at peace. This is the first after many that we can speak. And you, Aang…you will do what you have always done. What _we_ have always done because that is who we are.”

“I am the Avatar.”

“Yes,” she said with a tone that sounded pleased, “and you have made your safe return.”

“Yes,” he agreed, “We have.”

When he came to, his tattoos were fading from their glow. The crowd was looking up at him in awe. He whipped around to face Zuko and Shyu, wild emotions flitting through him like hummingbirds. He did not feel tired as he sometimes felt after being in the Avatar State. But he had mastered it, so that should not have been an issue. This was different. It had to be. He felt different.

“What happened?” Aang gasped as Zuko pulled him back inside.

“I can’t explain it to you, Aang,” quaked Zuko. He was shaking. “You just…stopped. Then you were all the Avatars. It was terrifying, but _amazing.”_

“Humbling,” murmured Shyu behind them. He looked stunned. The other Fire Sages were whispering amongst themselves as they streamed into the outdoor halls of the main grounds.

“All the Avatars?” stammered Aang.

Zuko nodded. “You kept changing from you to Roku, and then Kyoshi, and then others I don’t know.” He paused to take a breath and calm himself. “I think we saw all of them. You didn’t say anything until the end.”

Aang stared at him. “What did I say?”

Just then, their friends burst in through the double doors that separated the pavilion from the rest of the capitol. Katara rushed to Aang the quickest, grabbing hold of his hands. Sokka could not get past stuttering unfinished sentences. Suki exclaimed how thrilled she was to see Kyoshi’s spirit in person.

“Who’s…Raava?” asked Toph, as she reached them. She was ever the observant one. “You said that name when you were done being all Avatar on us. Even _I_ could tell. I could feel the vibrations from you, and you were so many different people, and you talked with so many different voices. I couldn’t pick yours out, Twinkle Toes.”

Aang paused, silent. He opened a palm near his chest and carried a small flame before closing his hand and snuffing it out. “I…I don’t know.”

“Then why did you say their name?” chimed in Suki.

“Because she was…familiar. I’ve never felt a connection like that before, not to anyone, and not to any other spirit I’ve met. It was almost like I’ve always known her.”

“Is she a past life?” asked Katara at his shoulder.

Aang shook his head. “I get the feeling that answer is complicated. I think it’s both yes and no.”

“That sounds like some Spirit World shenanigans to me,” commented Sokka with a resigned sigh. He tugged Suki close to his side. “We’ll never get what you’re talking about, huh?”

Aang smirked. “All I know for sure is that she’s always been there, like an old friend. Protecting me.”

He could not shake the memory that resurfaced, the one about trapping himself in the iceberg for a century. It was not filled with the kind of negative sentiments he normally felt. There was something unusual about it. He was floating in the water in the middle of the storm, his tattoos glowing stark against the dark waters, and there was a voice that echoed inside his head.

“Stay here for a while,” it had said, “Until they find you. Until it is safe to return.”

He looked up to his friends, smiling, relieved. Like a weight had been lifted.

“What is it?” asked Katara, an anxious look on her face.

“Nothing,” said Aang. He held tighter onto Katara’s hand. “I’m only glad things worked out the way they did. We have time.”

For now, he had time.

**Author's Note:**

> As always, please leave a comment if you can!


End file.
